What We’re Reading

“A Natural Order by Lucas Foglia,” Time
Photographer Lucas Foglia’s new book, “A Natural Order,” features images of off-the-grid communities in rural Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia. —Tara Guertin

“Instagram + Abkhazia,” Roads & Kingdoms
Instagram meets Abkhazia, the wartorn breakaway republic of the Black Sea. Roads & Kingdoms reports on how Metin Sönmez, a London-based webmaster who runs abkhazworld.com, and Kan Taniya, an Abkhaz student living in Italy, are putting one of Europe’s forgotten places on the map with the beautiful images they post on Instabkhazia. (One is shown at top.) —Jen Murphy

“Katherine Boo: Slum Dweller,” The Guardian UK
I am halfway through Katherine Boo’s meticulous new work of non-fiction, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Slum. I can’t recommend it enough. In this interview, Boo, a staff writer for the New Yorker, reveals how an outsider was able to experience life in the Indian slum. It’s a reminder that humility and empathy go a long way. —Julia Cosgrove

“Word of Mouth: Tel Aviv,” Coolhunting
A men’s fashion blogger from Tel Aviv gives readers a “Resident”-style tour around his city, which seems to be growing in art and nightlife. It made me want to visit! —Serena Renner

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“A Small World After All?” The Wilson Quarterly
Ethan Zuckerman digs deeply into this idea: “A central paradox of this connected age is that while it’s easier than ever to share information and perspectives from different parts of the world, we may be encountering a narrower picture of the world than we did in less connected days.” —Derk Richardson

“Stockholm, and the Strangers Who Brought Me There,” New York Times
What would happen if you traveled to a country you’d never been to and relied on suggestions from blogs and online locals instead of those from friends and guidebooks? Henry Alford finds out in Stockholm. —Jen Murphy

“The Perfect Traveler,” Worldhum
What is a perfect traveler, and what would it take to become one? Pico Iyer says it requires “a happy blend of steadiness and surprise” and then zeroes in on Somerset Maugham. —Derk Richardson